Faint of Heart
by melroihag
Summary: Vauseman AU - Modern Love Story between two women who face both harsh criticism and judgement from strangers they'll never meet again, but also love and acceptance from the most unlikely of people.
1. Chapter 1

Alex Vause did not fly well, which was surprising for someone travelled a lot due to work commitments, but here she was sat next to her best friend Nicky Nichols, on a flight from New York to Sydney. Only this time it wasn't for work, instead it was to help get her friend away for awhile, whilst she got through a rough breakup.

Nicky had promised that she wouldn't fall asleep until halfway through the flight, so Alex wouldn't be so bored and anxious, yet as soon as the wheels left the tarmac, she was out like a light.

Piper Chapman was on her way to Sydney from New York with her friend Polly. Polly's grandmother was sick and she didn't want to make the long trip alone, so her parents had paid for Piper to join her for the journey. Polly had closed her eyes to try and catch up on some much needed sleep as soon as they were in the air.

Piper wasn't in the mood for watching any films, so instead she walked the length of the plane, over and over and over again.

Nicky was leaning against the window, blind closed and eye mask on, whilst Alex's knee bounced up and down in an anxious tick. She decided to get up and use the restroom whilst the unfastened seat belt sign was still showing. When she returned to her seat, she glanced over at her friend, who was still fast asleep and rolled her eyes at how easy it was for some people to just get knocked out that easily.

She was just about to put her headphones on when the plane jolted and a blonde stumbled in the aisle and fell into the spare seat next to her.

Alex's arms shot out to steady her instantly, "Woah, are you okay?" she asked concerned.

The blonde smacked her forehead off of the headrest as she landed in the vacant seat.

"Oh man!" she blonde groaned, her hand coming up to cover her head as she turned and slid into the empty chair.

"You alright there?" Alex asked again after a moment. A slight smirk coming to her lips as the blonde uncovered her eyes and finally looked at her.

Piper had never seen eyes as green as these in her life. An audible gasp left her lips as she gazed at the stranger sat next to her. Dark hair, glasses and a slight smirk that made her blush involuntarily.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry! Is this seat taken?" Piper finally broke out of her reverie, glancing round frantically.

An amused laugh left the mysterious stranger, as she placed her hand gently on Piper's forearm, turning her back to look at her. "You're fine. That seat isn't taken." she grinned now, making the blonde's stomach flip in a way that hadn't happened before.

Alex watched as the blonde's cheeks grew an attractive shade of red.

"Oh…" the the blonde's voice stuttered slightly, before she cleared her throat and continued, "Good." she said more breathy than she'd meant to. A small shy smile playing on her lips.

Alex noticed just how blue the blonde's eyes were in that moment, and it made her heart beat just that little bit faster. She was definitely attracted to this woman and was usually able to tell straight women apart from the rest, but this blonde was somewhat of an enigma for her, leaving Alex highly intrigued to find out more about her.

"Alex." she introduced herself, holding her hand out expectantly.

Piper's eyes darted down to the outstretched hand and back up to a cool green gaze.

"Piper" she replied, shaking the woman's hand.

They got an electric shock as soon as their palms touched, causing them both to startle slightly. Alex held Piper's hand a little more tightly though, giving it a light squeeze, before letting go and holding onto the arm rest.

"So, are you going to Sydney or is it just a stopover?" Piper wondered aloud.

Alex noticed Piper adjust her position to get more comfortable in the seat beside her, clearly no intention to move any time soon, making Alex significantly more happy during this long and dull flight.

"What makes you think that it would just be a stopover?" Alex wondered, her eyebrow raised in amusement as the blonde's face grew redder still.

"Just, well I mean… you look like you've travelled a lot." Piper fumbled for an explanation under the gaze of the woman beside her. She found herself wanting to impress this woman, who she barely knew, but certainly wanted to know more about.

Alex's laugh was low and raspy, she almost missed when Piper's eyes fluttered closed at the sound… almost. A smug smirk lit her face as she pat the blonde's knee reassuringly.

"It's okay, Kid… no need to go getting all flustered on me." she winked and laughed again as the blonde's eyes narrowed slightly at her. "And I _am_ going to Sydney." she added, her mind subconsciously calculating all the faint freckles that were on the blonde's face.

The plane jolted again and Alex's hand left Piper's knee to grip onto the armrest tightly. Her eyes shutting as she took a deep breath in.

Piper automatically placed her hand over Alex's, her thumb tracing soothing circles onto the back of her hand. An overwhelming need to comfort this woman, shocking both Alex and herself.

The turbulence had passed and Piper's hand was still on Alex's. She watched as the woman released her breath in a long sigh and rest her head back against the headrest.

"Sorry if I freaked you out just then. I'm not good with flying." she admitted, eyeing the blonde cautiously.

Piper smiled and shook her head, "It's all good."

Alex couldn't help but glance down at their hands, a small genuine smile forming on her face.

Piper liked it when Alex smiled. The way it would reach her eyes and for a second you'd catch a glimpse of the woman behind this confident and smirking persona. So she kept her hand there as if it was normal.

"So, are _you_ going to Sydney or is it just a stopover?" Alex asked, a part of her hoping she was going to Sydney, just on the off chance that she might be able to see her again during her stay, despite it being a huge city.

"I'm going to Sydney. 10 days with my friend Polly." Piper informed her, signalling behind her with her thumb to where her sleeping friend was.

"Ah, I wondered where you came from." Alex laughed as Piper nudged her arm playfully, giggling herself.

Piper's giggle was the most ridiculously adorable thing that Alex had ever heard. All she knew in that moment was that she wanted to hear it again and again and again. Memorise in her mind for when they'll have to part ways once the plane lands.

"Why're you going to Sydney in the first place?" she wondered. Immediately regretting her question once the blonde's smile faded.

"Polly's grandmother is… passing away… as we speak… and she didn't want to make the journey by herself so I've come with her. I only met the woman a handful of times, but she was always so funny and full of life and just… she had all these interesting stories to tell." Piper found herself rambling again.

Alex's smile softened at the fondness in Piper's voice for her friend's grandmother. It was _sweet_ , she thought.

"Old people have the best stories." Alex said then.

"They really do." Piper's voice was far away, a small smile creeping onto her face as her mind replayed moments from time in her head.

"I'm going for 10 days too." Alex suddenly said after a few moments of silence, just staring at the blonde. Memorising very feature of her face. She was beautiful. Alex Vause never thought of women as beautiful. The ones she found her eye lingering on were hot, but never beautiful, never gorgeous, never with blue eyes so captivating as _hers_.

The blonde shook out of her reverie and nodded slowly, the woman's words slowly sinking in.

"Who knows, maybe we'll be on the same plane home." Alex laughed.

A permanent grin spread on Piper's face at the thought, "Hopefully." she blurted out, her face turning crimson at the sudden admission.

Alex's smirk was back as she rolled her eyes at the blonde's bashful behaviour. "Maybe we could meet for coffee or something, if you've any spare time whilst you're in Sydney?" she suggested, confused as to why she was suddenly so nervous.

"I'd like that, yeah." Alice agreed, biting her lip.


	2. Chapter 2

Piper found herself wandering the streets of Sydney. Polly was with her family still and wouldn't get back to the hotel until late. She didn't want to intrude on the family's grieving process, so she opted to pay her respects and then explore the city some more whilst she was still here.

It was starting to get dark out and Piper found herself lost in the middle of the bustling city. The Qantas Credit Union Arena was on the opposite side of the road to her as she stood outside of a Holiday Inn, completely lost and with only 2% battery left on her phone.

A crowd of people were piling out of the stadium, obviously there had been a concert of some sort, and Piper watched as people bundled into taxis or crossed the road, and went into the pub on the corner to keep the party going.

Piper was stressing out and decided that she'd go and have one drink to calm herself down, before figuring out where her hotel was and how she was going to get to it.

It was getting darker by the second. Piper reached into her bag, looking for her portable phone charger just as she twisted her ankle on the cracked pavement slab.

"Ow, fuck!" she sighed, rubbing her ankle.

Four men were standing outside the pub watching her laughing, they approached her. One of them reaching down to help pick up the stuff that fell out of her bag, whilst the others leered at her.

A slight chill ran down her spine as she watched one lick his lips, looking at her as if she were a piece of meat.

"I think these are yours." the man crouched before her spoke with a heavy Australian accent.

"Um, thanks." Piper forced a smile, taking her purse and things from him, and putting them back in her bag.

The other three men all crowded around her slowly, looking her up and down.

Piper had never been more petrified or felt more violated in her whole life. She took a step back, stumbling into one of them. They put their hands on her waist and she recoiled like a spring.

"Get off of me!" she said disgustedly.

The four men looked at each other laughing, obviously drunk out of their minds as they each took a few steps closer to her.

Piper's hands began to shake and she didn't know what to do. The pub's atmosphere was so loud that she could've heard it down the other end of the road.

 _No one would be able to hear me anyway_ , she thought as her heart started racing and her eyes started to water. She looked around frantically, noticing that the streets were now empty.

 _Fuck,_ she thought as she closed her eyes, losing grip of her bag as it slipped through her trembling fingers.

"Hey, I'm just gonna go outside for a smoke." Alex shouted to her friend who was clearly too wasted to hear a single word she'd said.

She made her way to the door, dodging in between people as they entered the already overcrowded pub.

A glimpse of blonde hair shot through her peripheral vision and she turned to get a better look. Alex watched as four burly men surrounded a woman. A blonde woman. One of the men were pushed by the woman and Alex's eyes fell upon a very distressed looking Piper. Her blood ran cold as she heard a slight shriek and instinct took over. It was as if her body was working by itself whilst her mind took a few more seconds to catch up.

"There you are! I told you to text me when you were outside, I said I'd meet you." Alex said loudly, gaining the attention of all the men and Piper. She smiled reassuringly as she walked toward the shaking woman. Barging past one of the guys, she open her arms, brow raising in silent question if she was alright. The blonde practically fell into her arms, her head hiding in the crook of her neck.

Alex's arms wrapped around the blonde, a relieved sigh coming from her as she felt Piper's arms wrap around her waist tightly, still shaking slightly.

"Is there a problem here, _mates_?" Alex glared at each of the men, doing a purposefully terribly attempt at their accent when she said 'mates'.

Each of the men looked at her and shook their heads, leaving the women alone and stumbled their way back into the pub.

Alex felt tears on her shoulder and her heart broke for the blonde. She wanted to kick those men in the balls. Each of them for even _thinking_ what she _knew_ they were thinking.

"Shh, hey… hey, it's okay." Alex said quietly, her hand rubbing the blonde's back soothingly.

"I thought for sure they were…" Piper mumbled against Alex's shoulder.

"I'd _never_ have let them do that." Alex promised, her grip on the blonde tightening.

Piper had never felt so relieved to see someone in her whole life, than she was when she saw Alex in that moment.

She was still shaking when Alex pulled back sightly. "I'll go get my jacket and I'll walk you back to your hotel. Wait, your friend isn't here with you is she?" she wondered.

"No, she's with her family. She said she'd be back late, so I decided to explore the city some more, and then it started to get dark out… so I tried to find my way back to the hotel but my phone ran out of battery and I got lost and…" Piper was rambling, and more tears were falling down her face.

Alex wiped them away with her thumbs. "Well, it just so happens that I have some battery left on _my_ phone." she said suggestively, a small smile on her face.

"I don't want to ruin your night." Piper said in a small voice. Alex couldn't remember a time when she'd seen someone look so small and vulnerable.

She rolled her eyes and shook her head, before walking backwards towards the pub. When she noticed the blonde wasn't beside her, she turned around and raised a brow in question.

"You coming?" she asked, holding her hand out.

Piper nodded sheepishly and without a second thought, grabbed onto Alex's hand.

Alex guided them through the crowded bar, keeping Piper close behind her.

"Nichols, I'm gonna walk _Pipes_ back to her hotel and then probably head back to ours. Don't wake me up when you get back." she yelled over the music to her best friend.

Nicky just nodded, waving to them as she took another shot.

A small smile formed on Piper's lips at the little nickname Alex had given her.

Alex grabbed her jacket and led the way out, draping the leather jacket over her arm she turned to face the blonde.

"So, where we headed, Kid?" she asked, noticing that Piper still hadn't let go of her hand yet, and was instead holding onto it for dear life.

She smoothed the pad of her thumb over the blonde's knuckles, "Hey, it's alright. No one's gonna hurt you." she promised, tucking a blonde strand behind Piper's ear.

Piper glanced up from beneath her lashes at Alex, she could see the promise was clear in her green gaze. Her eyes trailed down to take in the fiercely protective stance of the woman standing before her. Her gaze lowered to the jeans that the raven-haired woman was wearing and she took note of how well they defined her curves… in all the right places. Biting her lip, she looked up into green eyes once more and nodded.

"I… I'm staying at the Waverly Hotel." she sniffled, pulling her scarf around her more.

Alex's eyes lit up at this new piece of information as a goofy grin spread on her face.

"What?" Piper asked, giggling slightly.

"That's where we're staying! I can't believe we haven't bumped into each other in the week that we've been here already?" Alex said in disbelief, turning to make her way towards their hotel.

"I can't believe we haven't bumped into each other sooner." Piper commented, still in disbelief after 10 minutes of walking in companionable silence. Still holding each others hand.

Alex glanced over, her signature smirk plastered on her face as she raised her brow. "You almost sound disappointed. Like you missed me. Was our 21 hour and 40 minute flight not enough?" she teased, bumping her shoulder into Piper's.

Piper stumbled and bumped her shoulder into Alex's, rolling her eyes but unable to stop the laugh that bubbled up, "You wish."

Instead of admitting that yes she did in fact wish that, Alex just winked and whispered conspiratorially, "Your secret's safe with me, Kid."

"Shut up!" Piper whined, covering her face with her free hand and resting her head on Alex's shoulder to try and hide her blush.

Piper shivered on their way back to the hotel and Alex pulled them to a stop, unfolding her leather jacket and helped the blonde into it.

"Thanks." Piper was sure she would be as red as a tomato by now, but didn't care much as she saw the look that Alex gave her. It wasn't like the predatory stares of the men from before. It was a look filled with affection and a familiar warmth. She liked the way Alex made her feel, and that confused her because she'd never experienced this with a woman before. She'd always been attracted to men… that was until _Alex Vause_.

"No worries." she said simply, shrugging she grabbed hold of Piper's hand again, interlacing their fingers before walking towards the hotel again.


	3. Chapter 3

A wave of heat hit them as the automatic doors to the hotel lobby opened. They both shivered involuntarily as the warmth engulfed them both, thawing them out from the long cold walk they just took.

Pressing the button and waiting for the elevator, Alex peeked out the corner of her eye to find Piper cover her mouth with her free hand as she yawned.

Her nose scrunched up and her eyes closed tight as she yawned. Alex could tell by the way Piper's pace had slowed on their walk back, that she was exhausted.

They made it to level 6 and Piper stepped out, still holding onto Alex's hand as she walked towards her hotel room.

Alex's palm began to sweat as she suddenly realised that she liked this woman. She really liked her, and didn't want to just sleep with her and then forget about her.

Piper slid her passkey into the door and tiredly pushed the door open. Alex stood still in the doorway, letting go of the tired blonde's hand.

Piper turned around and frowned slightly, biting the inside of her cheek. She leant against the door, staring up at the dark haired woman.

"Thank you." she breathed. A thousand different reasons why, behind those two words.

A small and shy smile spread on Alex's face, "You're welcome." she searched the blonde's gaze to make doubly sure that she was alright.

Piper reached up slowly, tucking a strand of hair behind Alex's ear, before leaning in closer.

She kissed Alex's cheek gently, lingering for a moment before pulling back.

Alex smirked at her before pulling her in for a brief hug.

"I'm the level above, in 702 if you need anything." she winked at the blushing blonde, before making her way back to the elevator.

* * *

 _The Next Morning_

Piper sat in the lobby of the hotel, anxiously waiting to see if she could catch Alex before her morning meeting. Her foot tapped an erratic rhythm and she grabbed a tourist pamphlet from the rack beside her. Glancing up and over the top of the leaflet every so often, she grew annoyed, asking herself why she didn't just knock on Alex's door, she'd given her the number and floor.

A long sigh escaped her and she began to actually take interest in the brochure she had in front of her.

Alex sauntered into the lobby from the elevator, dressed in a pair of skinny jeans, a graphic tee and a pair of sneakers. She bumped into a guy who was hurrying towards the lift and knocked her hat off of her head.

The guy didn't even apologise, just pressed the button to a higher floor impatiently.

"Jackass." she grunted as the doors closed.

She bent down, put her hat back on and fixed her bag strap on her shoulder before turning for the main doors.

A beautiful blonde caught her eye. A look of complete concentration on her face as she read a tourist brochure on the sights that the city had to offer.

Alex shook her head smiling, before making her way over to sit in the vacant chair beside her.

"Good morning." she grinned over at the blonde, leaning closer to see which sight she was looking at.

Piper jumped a little in her seat, sighing in relief as soon as she realised it was Alex.

"Morning" she smiled shyly back at her, a blush colouring her cheeks. "I thought you had a morning meeting?" she wondered aloud after a few seconds more of just staring at the unbelievably attractive woman beside her.

Alex's signature smirk spread and her brow raised at the blonde's question. "Somebody was paying attention." she commented, laughing when Piper's rolled her eyes and face reddened even more so. Alex pat the blonde's arm comfortingly, "It got cancelled." she explained, her attention turning back to the leaflet before them.

"What's on the agenda for today then, Kid?" she asked curiously, her eyes skimming the pages.

It took Piper a few more minutes to compose herself before she answered.  
"Well, my friend stayed at her family's last night and is spending today with them too, despite the fact we were booked on a tour of the Blue Mountains." she pouted.

Alex looked sideways at her, "Didn't the grandmother just pass away?" she asked confused.

"Yeah… I'm not annoyed at her. Just disappointed I guess, which is selfish, I know." Piper scrubbed her hand over her face at how petty she sounded.

"Well, can you not just do the tour yourself maybe?" Alex offered the solution tentatively.

"I would, but I already booked two people and it's non-refundable." the blonde sighed, uncovering her face.

Alex raised her glasses on top of her head and took the pamphlet from the blonde, turning it over and searching for the price of the tour.

"What are you doing?" Piper asked confused by her actions.

"I wanna know how much this is." she said, her tone distant as she folded the piece of paper over and over.

"It was $380." the blonde provided her the information, her eyes narrowed in curiosity.

Alex nodded and reached into the small bag by her waist, she counted out $380, opened Piper's palm and closed the blondes fingers around the dollar bills.

"What are you doing?" Piper's eyes widened and she loosened her hand in Alex's still-tight grip.

"I'm paying you for the other tour ticket. I'll go with you. I have nothing to do today, and I was planning on going to the Blue Mountains before heading home anyways." she explained shrugging, her hands still clamped around the blondes.

A small smile spread on Piper's face then. She was going to spend the day with this woman, the thought making her heart stutter.  
"Besides, it'll be better to go with you." Alex admitted and Piper grinned at that. "It's always way too awkward asking asian tourists to take a picture of me. They always turn out blurry or they then ask me to pose with them because I'm so white." she rolled her eyes at her own joke, smiling as Piper giggled at her.

"You don't have to pay me, I'd be glad if you came." the blonde put the money back in the brunette's hand and folded her arms across her chest.

Alex narrowed her eyes, smirk still firm in place and put the money back in her purse. "Fine. But I pay for lunch, and anything else on this trip." she bargained.

"Deal!" Piper agreed. Her dimples making Alex's stomach flip.

"I'd better go get ready. The bus will be here to pick us up in half an hour!" she suddenly jumped up.

"Okay." Alex smiled up at her.

"You coming?" Piper asked, walking backwards towards the elevator.

"Sure." she answered, reaching out to move Piper out of the way from a businessman who was about to knock into her.

Alex scowled at the guy as he walked past, too busy on his phone to look up to see where he was going. She shook her head and sighed.

"I can't believe I'm like him most of the time. Always on my phone. I just need a day to relax and _not_ take a phone call." she leant back against the wall inside the elevator.

"I've left my phone on do not disturb mode since I got on the plane in New York. I wasn't taking any chances." Piper waved her mobile at the woman.

Alex reached into her pocket for her phone and put it on do not disturb mode, before placing it back in her pocket.

Piper went into the bathroom to get ready and and Alex sat on the bed, flicking through channels.

She reappeared with a floral sundress and her hair in two braids that hung over each shoulder.

Alex took in the sight of the blonde, and the remote for the tv dropped from her grasp, as an audible gasp escaped her.

Piper's cheeks flushed crimson as Alex cleared her throat. "Y-you look beautiful." she said then, trying to make her voice sound even.

"Thank you, so do you." Piper smiled shyly, reaching for her camera and bag before leading the way downstairs.


End file.
